This invention relates to a sanitary napkin for use by women during menstrual periods for absorbing an retaining menstrual fluids.
It is well known in sanitary napkins to apply a skin-contacting surface thereof with suitable adhesives so that the skin-contacting surface may be adhesively fastened to the user's skin and thereby otherwise possible leakage of menstrual fluids due to the displacement of the napkin during its use may be avoided. For example, Japanese Utility Model Application Disclosure No. 1993-7222 discloses a sanitary napkin provided along transversely opposite sides thereof with fastening means comprising band-like hydrophobic cushion members made of foamed a urethane or the like and adhesives applied on top surfaces thereof. As an alternative measure to avoid said leakage of menstrual fluids, it is also known to provide transversely opposite sides of a napkin with flaps so that these flaps may cooperate with a topsheet to form a pocket and any quantity of menstrual fluids tending to flow transversely of the napkin may be reliably received by the pocket.
The adhesion of the adhesives employed must be necessarily enhanced in order to assure that said fastening means of prior art might compensate for the movement of the user's body without separation of said fastening means from the user's skin. However, the enhanced adhesion would increase the user's discomfort inevitably accompanying the separation of the napkin from the user's skin. The napkin of prior art including the side flaps having rubber threads bonded thereto in their stretched state along respective free edges of the flaps is certainly advantageous in that the pocket is sufficiently opened as the napkin is longitudinally curved inward to receive menstrual fluids effectively. However, the pocket can be sufficiently opened only when the napkin is not in close contact with the user's skin i.e., the napkin is at a position appropriately spaced from the user's skin. Consequently, the conventional sanitary napkin of such type can not effectively avoid the leakage possibly occurring when the napkin gets out of its proper position longitudinally and/or transversely.